[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 103 (Friday, July 12, 1996)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1278]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 WHEN IT COMES TO U.S. TRADE POLICY, U.S. TOBACCO MARKET SHARE TRUMPS 
                             HEALTH WELFARE

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                        HON. FORTNEY PETE STARK

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                         Friday, July 12, 1996

  Mr. STARK. Mr. Speaker, the U.S. is No. 1. But that's nothing to 
cheer about when you're the No. 1 exporter of tobacco products. 
According to the World Health Organization [WHO], the U.S. is the top 
exporter of tobacco products world wide, yet tobacco products represent 
less than 1 percent of total U.S. export earnings. Two recent studies 
by the National Bureau of Economic Research [NBER] and WHO have pointed 
out some disturbing information about the U.S. role in promoting 
tobacco products around the world and our international support of this 
addictive drug.
  Since tobacco consumption has decreased by as much as 20 percent in 
the last 20 years in the U.S. and other highly industrialized nations, 
tobacco companies have been forced to turn elsewhere to shore up their 
huge profits. That elsewhere is foreign markets like Taiwan, Thailand, 
Japan, and South Korea. Since the early 1980's, the tobacco industry 
has been aggressively pressuring countries to open their markets to 
American tobacco products--and using U.S. trade policy to do it. 
Spurred by the tobacco industry, the U.S. Trade Representative [USTR] 
and the Commerce Department have successfully persuaded Asian countries 
to open their heavily restricted cigarette markets to U.S. tobacco 
products or face retaliatory measures.
  The tobacco industry has been extremely successful in their conquest 
of the world tobacco market. The NBER study found that in 1991, U.S. 
tobacco market share in four Asian countries that lifted their import 
curbs was up 600 percent. Since 1975, U.S. cigarette exports have 
increased by 340 percent, up from 50.2 billion cigarettes in 1975 to 
220.2 billion cigarettes in 1994.
  But at what expenses to world health? According to the NBER report, 
the per capita cigarette consumption in Asian countries is almost 10 
percent higher than it would have been if markets weren't open to 
American cigarettes. In their recent study of world tobacco and health 
trends, WHO found that, in the early 1990's tobacco products caused an 
estimated 3 million deaths world wide per year. In addition, WHO 
documents that at least one person dies every 10 seconds as a result of 
tobacco use around the world.
  Don't we have other American products to promote through the U.S. 
trade Representative? Why are we promoting products that unequivocally 
kill people when used as intended? The United States has an abundance 
of other products that the USTR could be promoting. Is opening markets 
for cancer-causing tobacco products the best allocation of USTR 
resources?
  From smoke-free workplaces to the proposed FDA regulation of tobacco, 
as the United States continues to enact stricter controls regarding 
tobacco use, we should set a positive example to the rest of the world 
by promoting healthy, tobacco-free lifestyles. How can we continue to 
strive to reduce tobacco use at home, but continue to promote tobacco 
use abroad? The U.S. is known as the leader of the free world. We 
should lead the fight against tobacco use, rather than lead the world 
in tobacco sales.

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